CJR's Guide to Online News Startups

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BUSSUM, NETHERLANDS — Two Dutch guys met at a party in Amsterdam. A month later, they had a magazine. Jochem Wijnands, who... More >

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Sep 4, 2012 12:24 AM
The Outer Banks Voice

Online-only news for the North Carolina coastline
By Chase Scheinbaum
NAGS HEAD, NC — In August 2011, when Hurricane Irene menaced the Eastern seaboard, The Outer Banks Voice was less than a year old. Drawing its name from a 200-mile ribbon of North Carolina's coastline, the online-only news source fed frequent updates to residents of this vulnerable area during the storm. The coverage was local, but clicks came from far and wide--many from readers in distant landlocked states. More than mere spectators, these were owners of vacation homes and long-time...
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Mar 24, 2011 04:42 PM
The Post

Social media gurus of South Dakota
By Justin Yang
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA — The Post, a story co-op site in which a team of volunteers and staff create and publish content, was founded by Heather Mangan in 2009 to cover stories that were not being covered by traditional media. Published by 9 Clouds, Inc., a social media marketing and consulting firm in Sioux Falls, The Post has created an Internet savvy brand that is shaping its own unique identity in the South Dakota journalism world. The staff of...
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Jan 14, 2011 12:47 PM
The Rapidian

Grand Rapids-based citizen journalism
By Alex Fekula
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Grand Rapids-based The Rapidian takes the concept of grassroots citizen journalism to heart. A community-wide project, operating under a for-us/by-us ethos, The Rapidian was created by the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, a nonprofit media and technology support organization for the Grand Rapids area. The Center began as a public access television station, and currently operates two television stations, a noncommercial radio station, and a theater for film and live performances; it also offers media education...
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Dec 31, 2010 01:06 AM
The Root

A strong online presence for the African American press
By Dohini Patel
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT of COLUMBIA — Founded in 2008, The Root continues a long tradition of black-perspective journalism in America, reporting on social, cultural, and political issues through an African American lens. With the Quincy Jones-founded Vibe folding in 2009 before its rebirth as a quarterly, and Essence and others toughing it out in a shrinking magazine market, there's been a notable gap in publications tailored to black audiences. The Root's goal is to raise the profile of the black voice...
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Sep 21, 2011 11:39 AM
The Sacramento Press

An ad network helps pay the bills for local news
By Caitlin Kasunich
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — Before October 2008, Ben Ilfeld and Geoff Samek, the founders of The Sacramento Press, had no journalism experience. In college, Ilfeld had studied economics and political science, while Samek had studied computer science. What the Sacramento natives did have in common, though, was a desire to develop a new website emphasizing reader discussion around local news and events. Before long, The Sacramento Press, an online news source with a focus on central city neighborhoods and city government...
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Oct 12, 2011 11:51 PM
The Saginaw Valley Journal

A for-profit campus news source
By Alex Fekula
UNIVERSITY CENTER, MICHIGAN — Pinned to the bulletin board at the editorial offices of the Saginaw Valley State University-based Saginaw Valley Journal is an article entitled "Leggings Aren't Pants!" An opinion piece featured in a rival campus-run newspaper, the article acts as a constant reminder for the Journal's editorial staff of "what not to do." Looking to provide the SVSU community with a news source that would provide more than "sex columns, Lady Gaga album reviews, and unresearched and disconnected...
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Sep 15, 2011 11:13 AM
The San Francisco Appeal

An online newspaper for the Bay Area
By Julia Pyper
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — Eve Batey, editor and publisher of The San Francisco Appeal, thinks it's important to stick to the journalism basics. She says that a clean layout, good writing, and quality reporting are what drive a successful publication. SF Appeal has dubbed itself "San Francisco's Online Newspaper." The content is almost entirely locally focused--San Francisco news, culture and entertainment, food, weather, and events. Most readers are based in the city, though some click on from the wider Bay...
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Mar 2, 2012 10:00 AM
The Sanatoga Post

A one-man news network in Pennsylvania
By Erik Shilling
SANATOGA, PENNSYLVANIA — When Joseph Zlomek decided to go back into the news business in August 2008 and launch The Sanatoga Post, he drew inspiration from nostalgia. Zlomek had fond, decades-old memories of the Eagle Bulletin, a small weekly based in Fayetteville, N.Y., a suburb of Syracuse, near where he was raised. The paper, Zlomek says, was regularly the hottest read among townsfolk. "They had stuff that meant something to them. I wanted to recapture that feeling." Read more about...
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Jan 5, 2011 03:54 PM
The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University

The first university-based investigative nonprofit
By Colin Fleming
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS — In 2004, former Washington Post reporter Florence Graves founded The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, thereby creating the very first university-based investigative nonprofit. In less than seven years, The Schuster Institute has snatched up more than ten awards and had its work published everywhere from Foreign Policy to Good Housekeeping. It is also one of the few American news organizations whose central focus is social justice and human rights. Read more about The Schuster...
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Dec 29, 2010 02:01 PM
The St. Louis Beacon

"News that matters" for St. Louis
By Kathy Gilsinan
St. LOUIS, MISSOURI — Margaret Freivogel's thirty-four years as a reporter and editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch came to an end when she took a buyout in 2005. "Several of us took buyouts without any intention of doing anything else at that point," Freivogel says. "We were just kind of weary." But within a year, Freivogel and a few former colleagues had begun work on the St. Louis Beacon, a nonprofit news website. After hiring a number of Post...
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Jan 4, 2011 05:48 PM
The Texas Tribune

Political reporting and investigations for the Lone Star State
By Justin Yang
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Texas Tribune, which writer Jake Batsell profiled for CJR in July 2010, focuses on state politics, government, and investigative reporting, and prides itself on finding innovative ways of presenting the news to an increasingly expanding audience. The nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization has helped redefine online journalism and extended its goals of civic engagement far beyond the Internet. Read more about The Texas Tribune Leading the charge for the Tribune is a bright, decorated staff of twenty-one...
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Sep 4, 2012 12:25 AM
TheDigitel

A small chain of local news sites/ aggregators in South Carolina
By Tyler Jones
CHARLESTON, SC — When a Union Army officer surrendered and removed the American flag from Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, the Civil War had begun. Less than thirty miles away and 150 years later, the Confederate flag was flown again at the new home of Annie Caddell, whose relatives fought for the South, to the dismay of her neighbors in the historically black community of Summerville, SC. After a petition to the city council and protest march failed to bring...
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Jun 1, 2011 12:33 PM
Theme Park Insider

News and reviews for theme park enthusiasts
By Alex Fekula
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA — Since Disneyland opened in 1955, Americans and pleasure-seekers the world over have flocked to the variety of theme parks that now occupy mega-park epicenters like Orlando, Florida. and Anaheim, California. With options ranging from Universal Studios to Disney World to Busch Gardens, the vacation planning process can at times seem daunting. Pasadena-based Theme Park Insider aims to take the edge off this potentially complicated process, appealing to theme park novices and enthusiasts alike. Read more about Theme...
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May 6, 2011 11:27 AM
ThePortlander

Portland-centric news with a casual flair
By Alex Fekula
PORTLAND, OREGON — When the news broke that the former model and millionaire's widow Anna Nicole Smith had died, the story seemed to capture the interest of virtually every local TV station, major news network, and newspaper. But all Jeff Martens of Portland, Ore. wanted to know was the score of the previous night's high school basketball game. Frustrated by Smith's death dominating the seeming entirety of local news coverage, Martens set out on his own to provide the kind...
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Mar 21, 2011 05:20 PM
This Land Press

Place-based literary journalism in and about Oklahoma
By Michael Meyer
TULSA, OKLAHOMA — Earlier this month, This Land Press published the latest installment in its ongoing coverage of Bradley Manning, the army private accused of providing thousands of pages of classified documents to WikiLeaks. The story, by newly minted This Land staff reporter Denver Nicks, looks at a formative period of Manning's life through the eyes of Jordan Davis, Manning's best friend from elementary school. At that time, Manning had been kicked out of his father's home and drifted on...
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